I like Camrose, as it has a larger old area, some cute little main streets, although stuff like Walmart is killing that. Even though a tourist town, Banff is nice too, and has lots of stuff to do. I've heard Athabasca is nice.

I grew up in Camrose however I didn't fully appreciate the city until I started go to other cities and towns that are similar size and smaller. If it was closer to Edmonton I think you would see a lot more growth (however maybe that's a good thing that it hasn't mushroomed like Airdrie).

As for other small towns, I like Okotoks. I also lived in Rimbey for 6 months and it's a nice community.

We've so far managed to avoid Walmart (and its sounding like we may have inadvertently blocked their latest attempt as well), though Safeway and Canadian Tire did do some damage to the business community when they opened by refocusing where the retail core of the town was. The downtown is pretty well kept and thanks to local bylaws everything has a "western heritage" look to it, in some cases overboard towards the touristy view of it, but in most cases it gives it a distinct look.

Otherwise I'll have to say Lacombe is also a favorite of mine, like Cochrane its grown quite a bit but the downtown especially still has the small town feel to it. Some of the smaller towns west of it are also quite interesting to visit, I've found them to also seem more 'alive' then some similar sized communities in the southern part of the province even just from passing through them.

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...They give off a vibe that if you weren't born & raised in Canmore then you are a second-class citizen who should GTFO. ...

That's getting to be fairly minor now. Lots of them cashed in and moved to Cochrane. I hope they feel as unwelcome there as they made others feel here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by b31den

Pretty poor mentality for a town that has no real industry and is totally reliant on second-home owners and tourists.

Ain't that the truth

Quote:

Originally Posted by b31den

Overall Canmore has the most douche factor of any place I have ever visited or lived in.

Love it

When it comes to nimby's, hypocrites, eco-fascists and enviro-weenies, Canmore's got that market cornered.

Worst are the hypocrites. eg. People profess to be all-caring about the environment and then go for a walk with their dog down a trail not bothering to pick up the feces as they go and then get to a wildlife corridor and let their dog off-leash (forbidden) to chase deer and elk. Rules are great .........for other people. "My dog is different".

As for the politics, I swear Tooker Gomberg must have 50 relatives in this town.

Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray/Wood buffalo, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Sherwood Park (Edmonton), and Saint Albert are all small cities. We have no ones in between. Technically places like Camrose, Leduc, Cochrane, and MacLeod are all cities, but really they're what 30K and under?

Actually Macleod and Cochrane are not cities. Neither is Sherwood Park. The smallest official "city" in Alberta (by population) was Drumheller, but they've reverted back to "town" status I believe. There are numerous towns and municipal districts (including Cochrane, Okotoks, Canmore, Wood Buffalo) that are much larger than some places in Alberta with "city" status.

Yes well in every aspect SP and FtMac are cities. The status means very little IMO (unless your a city of 1 million with a status of a town), it has to do with the feel, culture, and actual population/demographic of the area.

Maybe to you which is okay but to others it means a lot. The anal-ists in Canmore don't want to be a "city" because of the stigma supposedly attached to it.

Canmore's population is about 13,000. City status in Alberta requires a population of 10,000 but it is not automatic.

Besides City, Town, Municipal District and County, there was another corporation class created - the Municipality. The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass was created in 1979 by combining the towns and villages of Coleman, Blairmore, Frank, Bellevue, Hillcrest and everything in between. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is of course Fort McMurray and everything north of it.

Sherwood Park is just a name; it actually does not exist as a corporate entity and never has. It is the County of Strathcona and is essentially, population-wise, all of it.